myth-one.com wrote:
"NO LONGER be immortal" is an oxymoron. An immortal being lives for all eternity. And eternity has no end:
Eternity: unending in time. Thus an immortal can never ever become "no longer immortal."
On a very elemental level, I agree with you here; anybody would. However, this elemental thinking and the inability to think beyond the elemental is precisely the problem. I'll rephrase, hopefully for your benefit.
Pre-Fall man (Adam and Eve) was created with the
possibility of living physically forever, partaking of the Tree of Life and living in perfect communion with God for eternity. Thus, not only were Adam and Even physically alive, they were spiritually alive also. But alas, by eating the fruit of the thee of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve fell from this state of perfect grace in which they were created. And part of God's resulting judgment upon Adam and Eve and the rest of mankind was trouble all the days of their physical lives and, ultimately (although not yet), physical death. But spiritually, they died in that very day, just as God said they would.
Spiritual existence is not in view here. Spiritual
life is (actually spiritual death), but not spiritual existence. Your next statement leads me to that. This seems to be at least part of the problem, here, for you and others. There seems to be an unwillingness to or an incapability of distinguishing between (or both) the physical and the spiritual -- which are not mutually exclusive and can possibly... if one is a believer... coexist. Read on.
myth-one.com wrote:
God created man as mortal and every man and woman must accept or reject everlasting life.
Ah!!! Back that up Scripturally, myth-one. Where in the Bible -- anywhere, from Genesis to Revelation -- does it say that, either literally or figuratively, explicitly or implicitly?
My guess is that you will cite Hebrews 9:27, that "it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment..." But this is referring to man in his physical, post-Fall state. That whole section of Hebrews 9 is about man's need in this life of redemption and salvation in Christ Jesus; man was NOT in need of redemption or salvation before the Fall, but BECAME in need of redemption and salvation after the Fall.
No, the only thing I can think of that explicitly tells us how we were created is Psalm 8:5, where we read that God created man "a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor." Angels, myth-one, as you must know, do not die or cease to exist. You just said that yourself, when you said "the devil..." (who is a fallen angel) "...will be tormented day and night for ever and ever because he cannot die -- being an immortal spiritual bodied being." Yes, he will not cease to exist. But he will, after the Judgment, be thrown into the lake of fire where he will be tormented -- not by God, but in and of himself -- day and night forever (Revelation 20:10). Those who fail to repent of their sins and remain
spiritually dead -- those whose name is not written in the Book of Life -- meet the same fate, following the devil into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). This will be their continuing spiritual state/existence.
myth-one.com wrote:
It is our choice. (B)elievers will be born again of the Spirit as spiritual bodied beings which can never die. There is no exit from everlasting life. Death is not an option for immortal beings.
Well, I agree on the choice thing, we certainly do choose. But let me ask you something, myth-one. Have you not made a choice? Have you not chosen to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and repented of your sin? And, like Nicodemus, you have ALREADY been born again, spiritually speaking, of the Spirit. And your being born again -- NOW -- is not a result of your previously having made the choice you made, but rather your choice is a direct result of having ALREADY been spiritually born again. You, myth-one (and I, and every believer everywhere) have already been spiritually resurrected to eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
myth-one.com wrote:
Nonbelievers will be resurrected a thousand years after the Second Coming and make their final choice at that time.
No, nonbelievers and believers who have died physically will be resurrected immediately following the Second Coming. Hebrews 9:27, cited above, states that "it is appointed for man to die once, and after that..." -- after all die the first, physical death -- "...comes judgment..." There is no 1000 year period in between. All will have long since made their choices; they will either be on Jesus's right or left and will be judged at that time. This is the Judgment.
myth-one.com wrote:
This includes Adam and Eve, who were led into sin by the serpent's lie of their immortality.
The resurrection will include Adam and Eve, for sure...
But the serpent's lie was
not that of immortality, but of their "being like Him." In other words, he deceived Eve into thinking that they would no longer be subject to God's authority, but would themselves have ultimate authority -- equal to God. This is the original sin of Adam and Eve. They thought they could actually be God, in submission to no one. It is no coincidence that this is the very first of the Ten Commandments: "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3).
Checkpoint, this response to myth-one should answer all of your... questions (or at least come close to it).
Grace and peace to you both.
